Attract more customers

Customers searching for your product or service online have a plethora of choice. 

So how will you make your business standout?

Whatever it is that you are selling, there is always someone else who is offering pretty much the same. Often at a lower price, as they attempt to break into the market. The typical reaction is to lower your prices. This leads to a race to the bottom, until one or the other goes out of business. Either way it is likely to be a pyrrhic victory, as it is  difficult to raise prices once they have been reduced.

The simple answer is to give the customer what they want at a price that they will pay. 
But what is it that they want and just how much will they pay for it? Most businesses assumes that that they know what their customers want. True, yet it is not their customers they need to look to for new business. It is someone else's customers they need to attract.

So before you commissioning  a new advertising and marketing campaign. Ask how will you find out what your potential customers want? 
You should have established this before you started your business. But times change and customer expectations change with them.  It is wise to commission market research on a regular basis. Especially before you start planning your next advertising or marketing campaign. That is real research, not a quick poll around family and friends, or a gut felling that the market is right for...

Market research tells you what you need to know. 
To help you make, your choice of product or service. Good research can also tell you how much demand there could be. What it is often difficult to find out is how your competitors are attracting new business.

Unfortunately far to many businesses leave it to late. 
They only come to commercial agencies once their marketing has failed. Even then they have a tendency to disagree with the results. As these often challenge cherished working practices. Major change maybe needed to get their business back on track.

Don't leave it to late to seek professional advice. 
Do so before you embark on any advertising or marketing campaign. It is not that expensive. It can save you a lot of money in the long run. It could even save your business.

Another factor to keep in mind. Banks and other sources of funding are more likely to favor an application for funds. If the businesses applying, has a viable advertising campaign planned.

- Gavin Bryan-Tansley Owner Vid-FX+